July 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. government plans to destroy a stockpile of contraceptives worth $9.7 million for poor nations, mainly in Africa, after the State Department "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction."
The contraceptives include nearly 2 million doses of injectables, 900,000 implantable devices and more than 2 million oral packets, according to internal auditing in April obtained by The Washington Post.
Chelsea Polis, a researcher with Guttsmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, told the newspaper that the contraceptives could provide more than 650,000 women with pregnancy protection for up to one year and 950,000 women for three years.
U.S. laws and rules prohibit sending U.S. aid to organizations that provide abortion services, counsel about the procedure or advocate for the right overseas.
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